← 1 May Wednesday 2 May 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 3 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
42,336 stories about harm· Trends· Every past day

We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.

How to read these numbers →

The news turned to protests in Bangui (Central African Republic), violence in Tripoli and power cuts in Portugal. the Central African Republic's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 30 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostMadagascar 92 in 100 of its 209 stories, usually 41
RegionSub-Saharan Africa 30 in 100 of its stories, usually 28
Tone of the words Softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Central African Republic

136 of its 146 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 81%. Bangui accounted for 126 of the Central African Republic's 136 stories about harm, carried by 121 outlets. 68 of Bangui's 126 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (83 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Libya

431 of its 494 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Tripoli accounted for 415 of Libya's 431 stories about harm, carried by 345 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (165 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Shelter & services

Portugal

33 of its 214 stories (15%) were about people being harmed, usually 8%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (20 stories). Power cuts were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

France

611 of its 2,410 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. 398 of Paris' 450 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 9 times the usual rate (354 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Somalia

117 of its 203 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Mogadishu accounted for 75 of Somalia's 117 stories about harm, carried by 53 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (14 stories). Heavy rain was named in 25 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.

Protests & strikes

China

152 of Huajian's 197 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (227 stories). Hepatitis was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Rights & justice

Colombia

204 of its 295 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (166 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Puerto Rico

154 of its 240 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (76 stories). Chikungunya was named in 23 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with plague and west nile virus.

Rights & justice

Cuba

45 of its 138 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Drownings were named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Also named far more than usual: wildfires in Tanzania (30 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); building collapse in Brazil (43 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); heavy rain in Somalia (25 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); flu in Greece (28 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drownings in Cuba (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

19 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 19 the day before
25 in 10019 in 1003 Apr10 Apr17 Apr24 Apr2 May3 Apr: 20 in 1004 Apr: 21 in 1005 Apr: 21 in 1006 Apr: 20 in 1007 Apr: 22 in 1008 Apr: 23 in 1009 Apr: 21 in 10010 Apr: 20 in 10011 Apr: 20 in 10012 Apr: 20 in 10013 Apr: 20 in 10014 Apr: 25 in 10015 Apr: 24 in 10016 Apr: 22 in 10017 Apr: 21 in 10018 Apr: 21 in 10019 Apr: 20 in 10020 Apr: 21 in 10021 Apr: 24 in 10022 Apr: 24 in 10023 Apr: 22 in 10024 Apr: 22 in 10025 Apr: 21 in 10026 Apr: 20 in 10027 Apr: 20 in 10028 Apr: 21 in 10029 Apr: 21 in 10030 Apr: 20 in 1001 May: 19 in 1002 May: 19 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 2 May. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 42,336 stories about harm among 218,219 counted on 2 May.

Read the day's briefing

For the second day running, the news turned to the Central African Republic. On 2 May 2017, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, against 19 today. 19 in every 100 of the day's 218,219 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 21. In the Central African Republic, 93% of the news was about people being harmed, where 81% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Lesbos, Greece -- people displaced: 52 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100San Sebastian, Spain -- attacks & violence: 54 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Samail, Oman -- protests & strikes: 35 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 107 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Saint John River, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 27 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Afrin, Syria -- attacks & violence: 49 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Sao Paulo, Brazil -- accidents & disasters: 104 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Quetta, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 71 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Bangui, Central African Republic -- protests & strikes: 126 stories, carried by 121 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- deaths, cause not given: 100 stories, carried by 129 outlets; harsh wording in 74 in 100Osaka, Japan -- people displaced: 56 stories, carried by 243 outlets; harsh wording in 36 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 120 stories, carried by 100 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 145 stories, carried by 178 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Yerevan, Armenia -- protests & strikes: 171 stories, carried by 90 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Madrid, Spain -- attacks & violence: 135 stories, carried by 107 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Mubi, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 143 stories, carried by 136 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tijuana, Mexico -- people displaced: 89 stories, carried by 151 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 311 stories, carried by 221 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Sydney, Australia -- attacks & violence: 292 stories, carried by 368 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 244 stories, carried by 231 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Charlottesville, US -- protests & strikes: 182 stories, carried by 280 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 450 stories, carried by 353 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 415 stories, carried by 345 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Chatham County, US -- accidents & disasters: 654 stories, carried by 638 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100
Attacks & violenceAccidents & disastersPeople displacedDeaths, cause not givenProtests & strikesDisease & outbreaks

The day's biggest events: attacks, accidents and disasters, people displaced, protests, outbreaks. Bigger dot: more stories. Ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported it and how clearly it was about one thing, the same way for every place and year; the news data does not say who attacked whom, so both sides of a war appear where the news put them. Click a dot for its stories.

The day in three measures

How it felt 30 days →

harshwarm

The words in the day's stories were softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little less than usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little less than usual
● Fearabout as usual

From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?

The weekly briefing · 19 Oct – 25 Oct

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How to read these numbers →

These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.